The True Meaning of Christmas
by nathansgurl
Summary: Christmas in Tree Hill. Come find out! NaleyBrucas
1. The Party

"Nathan come on its Christmas time, come with me. Don't be such a grinch" teased Haley

Look, its good that you want to give back to the community and whatnot. Just don't ask me to join in on the festivities or whatever they call it."

But… started Haley

Christmas isn't important to me okay. My idea of Christmas is staying in, eating junk food and watching football on TV alright. So no parties, no dances, no nothing. You got it?

Haley lets out a huff and goes back to decorating the Christmas tree.

Meanwhile, Lucas comes along.

"So how's the Christmas Nazi doing?" asks Lucas

"I heard that!" yells Haley

"She's acting crazy as usual. Not only does she want me to spend the entire day with a bunch of pain in the ass kids at the orphanage but she has the nerve to ask me to go to dad's annual kiss-ass jamboree also known as a Christmas party.

"So what'd you tell her?"

"No of course. I've gone to that stupid party for as long as I can remember. For once, I'm going to spend my day away from he who shall not me named. If I go, all he'll do is bitch about how I'm throwing my future away by dating Haley and whatever else he yells about whenever I see him. So for once in my life, I won't be going to that party from hell.

Lucas looks at him in pity "Good luck man. Nazi over there is plain scary. She's going to make you go to the party just like she convinced me to go so don't think for even a second that you're going to able to get away. Believe me I tried but its virtually impossible"

If looks could kill, Lucas would be dead by now. By the way Haley's eyes were burning into him, Lucas was sure to be a dead man.

She stomps over to the brothers and says "Nathan, Lucas, make fun of me all you want, but in the end, you'll end up thanking me profusely for what I'm doing and with that she starts to walk away again.

"Damn Christmas Nazi, that'll never happen" Nathan mumbles

Haley swiftly turns around

"What was that?" asks Haley threateningly

"Nothing, Nothing at all" replies Nathan, clearly terrified of his girlfriend

Lucas just laughs in response and once again receives the death glare from Haley.

Lucas gets the same expression of fear that Nathan had had on his face just moments ago.

And so the two brothers cautiously move away from a VERY intimidating Haley James. She may look small but she's as dangerous as a ticking time bomb!


	2. Is it real

**Hi everyone!! Thanks soo much for the replies!! I hope you guys like this chapter! Please please please leave your comments. I just luv getting them!!**

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Lucas is lying down on his bed and is looking up at Haley, who is dressed like on of Santa's little elf. Her face is glowing and she is grinning from ear to ear. Her appearance gives and aura of fakeness.

"Oh Luuuuuucaaaaasssss! You need to get pre-sentssss for meee-eee! Don't forget or you'll be dead! Don't forget or you'll be dead!" chants Haley

Suddenly, out of nowhere, Brooke appears. She is dressed like the grim reaper. With a knife in had she approaches him and begins to run the knife over his chest, leaving red marks where ever the blade came into contact with Lucas's skin.

"This is what will happen to you if don't ask me to be your date at Nathan's party tomorrow night".

She then leaves a short but sensuous kiss on Lucas' lips, who is left wanting for more.

"And this is what will happen if you do ask me to be your date" she says

Brooke then moves back beside Haley and they share a mischievous glance. They look like they're planning something evil! They begin to cackle like wicked old witches. And suddenly, poof!! They were gone!

Lucas wakes up screaming and sweating. He then realizes that it was only a dream! Just as he begins to relax, Haley comes in wear an elf costume just like in his dream!

Seeing Haley, Lucas jumps out of bed and runs out of the house yelling, "Get away! Get away!"

Haley looks around and says "What? I was only going to show him my costume for the Christmas pageant this afternoon!" She has this mischievous look on her face, much like in Lucas's dream.

Was it a dream or was it real?

Just after seeing Haley in her costume and running out of his home, who should Lucas bump into? None other than Brooke Davis of course!

Brooke was dressed in a black cloak, similar to the one she was wearing in Lucas's dream. Like Haley, she too wanted to shoe her costume to Lucas. She was going to be the grinch in the play. The reason why she had been wearing the cloak was because she didn't want people to see her in that horrid costume. Lucas had been long gone by the time she realized what was happening and didn't get the chance to explain her attire to Lucas.

Was it a dream or was it real?

After his encounter with the grim reaper, I mean, Brooke, he ran to the save haven of Nathan's humble abode.

She started to bang on Nathan's apartment door.

"Nathan! Nathan! Open up!" he yelled

Getting impatient, Lucas tried to breakdown the door. Just as he approaches the door, it opens and Lucas not being able to stop himself, accidentally slams into Nathan, sending them both flying.

"What the hell? What is wrong with you man?" Nathan asks, visibly upset

"I…I was scared!" stutters Lucas

Nathan takes one look at Lucas and starts to laugh.

"Haha! I'd be scared of me to if I were dressed in teletubby pajamas! What are you? Like two?"

Nathan starts to laugh again.

"Who's your favorite? Tinkywinky maybe?" he asks

Lucas simple glares at him

"Dipsy actually, but that's not the point: he retorts, clearly unimpressed with his brother's reaction.

"Okay I'm sorry, whatever floats your boat man. Now would you please explain why you were yelling like a maniac and almost murdered me just now?" Nathan asks

"Its your girlfriend, and Brooke, they're evil I tell you, EVIL!!!" Lucas exaggerates.

" I saw them in my dream, I swear they're out to get me! Start preparing for my funeral Nate! I'll be dead on the day that Jesus was born! How sad is that?"

Lucas curls up in a ball and looks up at Nathan, who had in the mean time gotten back to his standing previously standing position.

"Lucas! Go home! You're talking nonsense alright! Just go!" he yells, evidently disgusted in seeing his brother's pathetic state.

Lucas gets up to leave but Nathan stops him.

"Hey man, put on this coat, that way people won't have to find out how much of a dork you really are" say Nathan

"Bye Nate" Lucas replies, teary eyed.

He looked like a dog that had been punished, all that was needed was some whining and he'd completely fit the picture.

And so Lucas trudged about, returning to the comforts of his home.

A couple of hours later, Lucas once again leaves the house, this time in decent clothing and a more rational state of mind. This time, his destination is the Tree hill orphanage where he had promised to help out as per his best-friend Haley's demands.

Call him ungrateful but he has not interest in helping out in the community. He'd rather be helping himself eat candy and leads of yummy food that were commonly prepared during the Christmas season.

Instead of subjecting himself to the joys Christmas cuisine, what was he supposed to do? He was supposed to spend his time playing with a bunch of little kids. Why? All because of Haley James, his so-called best friend. Who needs friends anyway? He was perfectly fine being by himself as long as he could indulge himself in yummy Christmas food to his heart's desire. Yup! That's what Christmas was all about ---FOOD!!!


	3. A Ruined Christmas or a Saved One

**Hi everyone! Someone found the last chappie a little confusing so I'm going to try and clear that up. The last chapter was about Lucas, in the beginning, he was having a really freaky dream, he wakes up an finds that a lot of what he dreamt is coming true and he's a littlefreaked about it. In the end he finally manages to calm down and then reveals what Christmas means to him (food, presents etc. I forgot to mention that Luke in this story is a lot likeTim on the show except that he is not a complete airhead.I wanted tofinish this fic by Christmas so this update has twice as much writing as usually one chappie will have. As you will see in the follow chapters, they each start off withone of the characters' dreams. Anyway, hope y'all enjoy and please leave me comments. Also, as a proud Jugge at TWA, I'd like to encourage everyone to go and nominate their favorite fics at the Tangled Web Awards website. Thanks!**

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Chpt 3: **

_Date: December 24th (morning)_

"Oh Haley wayley shmaley you're so cute, you didn't actually thought you could beat me at the Christmas pageant did you?" says Teresa condescendingly and then pats Haley on the head as if she were a dog.

Cut to Nathan and Peyton walking near the docks, holding hands and occasionally sharing a kiss or two.

"So why'd you choose to be with me instead of that witch bitch known as a Haley?" asks Peyton

"Well she didn't get me the right present for Christmas. Why should I be with someone who can't even buy me a decent present?"

Cut to Lucas standing in the hallway in front of Haley's locker

"Hey Luke" says Haley cheerfully

Lucas however, doesn't seem as excited to see her though.

"I'm sorry Haley, I can't be your friend anymore"

"Why?" she asks, on the verge of tears

"Because you're the witch who ruined Christmas"

Cut to Haley being burned alive while Lucas, Nathan, Peyton and Teresa laugh at her. They begin to taunt her:

"You ruined Christmas"

"Damn Christmas Nazi"

"You're a disappointment!"

They were spinning around her, laughing and spouting endless insults and all Haley could do was cry.

"No, No, No! Please don't know!" she yelled

And suddenly, out of the blue, Brooke's face appeared.

"Haley! Haley! Wake up!"

Haley wakes up, still sweating, her heart beating a mile a minute and says, "It was all a dream!"

"Wooh! I've been trying to wake you up for the past ten minutes. What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?" asks Brooke, concerned for her friend.

"Yeah, I dreamt that everyone was disappointed in me. They said that U was the one who ruined Christmas" replied Haley in a state of panic

"Don't worry tutorfreak, if anything, you'll make Christmas even better for everyone this year. Now make like a bird and shoo, you've got lots to do and very little time"

"Yeah, I'm going to go to Luke's and show him my elf costume, wanna come?"

"Nah! I'll get my stuff and meet you there. Besides, I have a full proof plan for getting him to ask me to the Dan's party" replies Brooke mischievously

"Yeah sure you do your thing, I'll see you later" says Haley not asking for details knowing that Brooke's plan involved something dirty

Haley changes into her costume and walks over to Lucas' house.

Just as she enters, she finds a very much spooked Lucas who begins to yell, "Get away! Get away!" and runs out of the house in his pathetic little pjs the moment he saw her.

Moments after Lucas's dramatic exit, the door reopens, this time its Brooke, who has apparently run into the nutcase also known as Lucas.

"Did you see him?" asked Brooke

"Yup!" says Haley snickering

"And you're not worried?"

"Its only when he doesn't act crazy that I worry"

Brooke just looks at her in disbelief.

"What! It's the truth"

"Whatever you say tutormaniac, lets get going shall we?" asks Brooke

"We shall, we shall"

And so the two moved on to prepare for the Christmas pageant that was to be held today. Not only was it a pageant but it was also a contest, to see who could come up with the best Christmas play and Haley was determined to win it this year. For many years now, Teresa had been the reigning queen of Christmas pageants and Haley was dead set on bringing her down!

She could even picture it, her snatching the coveted Santa Claus trophy that looked awfully similar to Whitey by the way, from Teresa's mangy little hands. She could even picture herself dragging Teresa away by the hair. Yes, revenge was going to be sweet as a candy cane!

Suddenly, she was brought out of her thoughts when she felt something sticky land on her head. It was glue! And who dare put such a thing on Haley, the Christmas Nazi's head? None other than Teresa Roberts of course!

"Oops" says Teresa meekly as she stand on a ladder pretending to put up a banner.

"Oh you're going to pay bitch, pay!"

Two can play at that game she thought.

And so, as the day progressed, along with the preparations for the forthcoming Christmas extravaganza, the battle between Haley and Teresa continued.

Oh! Many an innocent bystanders had faced to face the wrath of the feud between the two chrismaniacs.

Some had green hair, others had purple hands and dirty clothes. These were only tamest of the pranks that had been pulled. My! What a war it was! Those poor kids were no longer, they had become martyrs. Oh what a poor poor fate they had. Their pageant leaders had lost their minds and they were the fools who consistently fell for their leaders' traps. Although the pranks weren't meant for them, they fell for the tricks nonetheless.

However, one prank had gone too far…

Teresa had put a giant fake candy cane coated with super glue across the street from the park in which the pageant would be held. None one noticed that scrumptious object save for one little boy was known to have an eye for sweet treats.

He was mesmerized by the sheer enormity of the sugary treat. He couldn't wait to get his hands on the delicious candy that seemed to me calling his name.

Unfortunately, he never made it to the candy cane for someone from behind had pushed him away before he could get there.

It was Haley.

She had risked her life in order to save his.

There she lay on the street after being hit by an oncoming car, unconscious and bleeding.

At that instant, all had become silent. Nathan and Lucas who had arrived just moments before were they first one to spot her.

One little pranks had reeked so much havoc. Now all the effort Haley had put into making the pageant better than it had ever been had gone down the drain.

Haley's dream had been accurate, Christmas had indeed been ruined.

Chpt 4:

_Date: December 25 (very early in the morning)_

Nathan was about a block away from the playground when he hears the screeching sound of tires. The tire zooms past him and hits a young woman while a little boy as thrown across the street, just in time to avoid the speeding car. As he approaches the scene of the accident, he realizes that this woman looks awfully familiar. Gets closer and closer, hoping that he is wrong about the woman. However, to his dismay, his worst fear has come true, the woman is indeed Haley.

Bleep bleep bleep sounds a one of the many gadgets present in hospitals.

The sound forces him to come out of his dream. He is sweating, his hands are shaking. He doesn't know where he is. And then, all of a sudden, it all comes back to him.

All that he had dreamt about had indeed occurred the previous day.

He looked sideways and found Haley, HIS Haley, laying one the adjacent bed

motionless

She looked different now, she was no longer covered in blood.

Nathan gets out of bed and goes out of the room in search of a familiar face.

He didn't need to look far though.

There in front of Haley's room sat Lucas, Brooke, Karen, and to his disbelief, his parents. And what's more, they were actually in tears! Did they really have a heart, he wondered. They were all in deeps thought and didn't notice Nathan's presence. Lucas was the first one to acknowledge his presence.

"Hey man, how are you doing?" he asked

"Okay I guess. What happened? The last thing I remember is…"

He couldn't even say it. Part of him still believed that it had only been a dream. But he knew it wasn't.

"You passed out man. After the ambulance arrived and began to examine her, you fell unconscious"

"The paramedics took you both to the hospital. They said that what happened to you was out of shock and that its pretty common in cases like these. Are you sure you're okay?" he asked again

"Yeah I'm fine. What did they say about Hales?" Nathan inquired

"The doc said that she had broken some bones and that she had suffered some head injuries"

Lucas paused for a bit, he found it too difficult to continue.

Karen noticed his discomfort and took his place.

"Hey Nate, how are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. Why does everyone one keep asking that? I'm not the one laying unconscious in a hospital bed" he yelled

He felt guilty now. Everyone was staring at him.

"I … I'm sorry"

"Don't worry about it kiddo. They did a couple of minor surgeries on her. We're just waiting for her to regain consciousness that's all. No need to worry"

Nathan couldn't hold it in any longer, he burst into tears. He didn't care if that made him weak, he just needed to let it all out.

Karen, out of maternal instinct, made him lay his head on her lab and began to sing softly. Nathan continued to weep as Karen tried her best to comfort him.

Deb looked at the two and felt a twinge of envy. She wished she were the one comforting Nathan. After all, she was his mother.

Seeing Nathan break down, Lucas too began to get emotional. Consequently, realizing that Karen was in over her head, Dan and Deb approached Nathan. And as if he were a little child, they took hold of him and began to comfort him. At first Nathan resisted, remembering all the times he'd been neglected, but in the end, he gave in to the comforts his parents were offering. He realized that no matter how much he resented his parents, he still did love them. He realized that he was still the little boy who was desperate for his parents' love. It was at times like these that familial bonds are most needed. He realized that as long has love existed between him and his parents, everything would be okay. No matter how much misery they caused him, deep inside, his parents still loved him.

Love, that's what matters most in the world. He promised himself that once Haley woke up, he would tell her how much he loved her and that without her, his life would be utterly meaningless. Like his parents, she too was her family.

Meanwhile, seeing Nathan get comforted by his parents, Lucas began to reflect on his own life. He remembered how understanding Haley had been when he'd found out that Dan was his father and that he'd abandoned him and his mom. He remembered how supporting she was when Nathan and the team had been treating him badly. As if in a movie, he remember all the time he and Haley had shared. For the past month or so, he had been so caught up in his relationship with Brooke and the joys of Christmas, that he had completely forgotten about her.

Just yesterday, moments before the accident, he had been cursing Haley for making him participate in a stupid Christmas pageant instead of letting him indulge in Christmas food. He hated himself for thinking that such little things mattered more than his friendship with Haley. He hated the fact that he had forgotten why Christmas meant so much to Haley. Instead of helping make Christmas even more special for Haley, he had made fun of her.

Haley's parents were never around. She was a strong person and had gotten over the fact that her parents didn't love her. It was only during the holidays that her parents presence, or should I say lack there of, affected Haley. Thus in order to ease the pain, every year, Haley would bury herself in Christmas preparations.

How could he have not realized this? Lucas promised himself that once Haley regained consciousness, he would make sure to remind her of how special she was and that their friendship mattered to him more than anything else.

Although Haley was physically unconscious, he mind was funny functional. After a long time, she had finally gotten the time to think. She tried to remember why she always made such a big deal about Christmas. For as long as she remembered, she had always wanted to make Christmas perfect.

On the days before Christmas, she lived in constant fear of disappointing others. Today however, after having seen her entire life flash in front of her just moment before she came into contact with the car, Haley realized that her fears were pointless. She realized how foolish she had been. She knew now that things such as competition and presents didn't matter. What mattered was that she was fortunate enough to have so many people who loved her dearly. She was immensely thankful for that. She promised herself that once she came out of her current state, she would make sure to spend the remainder of this eventful holiday enjoying her time with her loved ones rather than obsess over material things that were of little importance.

Following this revelation, Haley came out of her unconscious state.

This one event had forced Haley and those around her to rethink their priorities in life. In this case, Lucas had learned the value of friendship, Nathan, the importance of family, and Haley, the power of love.

Yeas, that is the true meaning of Christmas. Christmas isn't about parties, food or presents, its about spending time with your loved ones. Don't ever take them for granted, for you never know, they could be gone one day and you'd never have the chance to tell them how much they meant to you.

The End


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